Illinois tolls will increase in January after board's 8-0 vote

CHICAGO - The Illinois Tollway Board of Directors voted unanimously Wednesday to approve toll increases for passenger and commercial vehicles beginning in the new year.

What we know:

The board approved the toll hike in an 8-0 vote.

Under the plan proposed by Tollway officials earlier this year, I-PASS users driving passenger vehicles will pay about 45 cents more per toll beginning Jan. 1, 2027.

Commercial vehicle tolls will increase by about 30%.

The plan also calls for inflation-based toll adjustments every other year beginning in 2029.

The increases are part of the Tollway's "Driving Connections" capital program, a 15-year, $26.5 billion plan that includes road improvements, bridge projects and efforts to reduce congestion across the Tollway system through 2042.

The Tollway has said it does not receive state or federal tax dollars for maintenance and operations and relies entirely on toll revenue.

The passenger vehicle increase will be the first since 2012.

The other side:

The Illinois Policy Institute criticized the board's decision Wednesday, pointing to public opposition to the plan.

"Gov. J.B. Pritzker has made affordability a central theme of his agenda, yet the Tollway board he appointed just approved a massive increase in the cost of commuting and doing business in Illinois," Bryce Hill, the group's senior director of fiscal and economic analysis, said in a statement.

Hill said more than three-quarters of online public comments opposed the plan.

"Illinoisans already face a heavy tax burden," Hill said. "State leaders should be looking for ways to lower everyday costs, not making it more expensive to get to work and move goods through Illinois."

What's next:

The new toll rates are scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2027.

Inflation-based toll adjustments are then expected to begin in 2029 and occur every other year.